Board to interview 4 candidates for Oak Ridge school chief

The Oak Ridge Board of Education has narrowed a field of potential school superintendent candidates and will start the interview process on Friday.

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By Beverly Majors

Oakridger - Oak Ridge, TN

By Beverly Majors

Posted Nov. 22, 2012 at 2:00 PM

By Beverly Majors

Posted Nov. 22, 2012 at 2:00 PM

Oak Ridge, Tenn.

The Oak Ridge Board of Education has narrowed a field of potential school superintendent candidates and will start the interview process on Friday.

The Board of Education met Tuesday with representatives of Ray and Associates Inc., a professional search firm based in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, that conducted a nationwide search for School Superintendent Tom Bailey’s replacement. Bailey is retiring in December.

On Tuesday, the five-member School Board was given information about nine candidates the Iowa firm had selected based on the qualities and criteria set by the Board.

During a nearly four-hour meeting, the School Board selected five candidates to interview — narrowed down from a list of nine — but one of those candidates withdrew his application late Tuesday night. That candidate cited a salary issue.

The School Board will interview one candidate at 3 p.m. on Friday at the DoubleTree Hotel and interview the other three candidates from 8 a.m. to noon on Tuesday and Wednesday.

The search for a new school superintendent started earlier this year when Bailey announced his retirement plans. Bailey has been the superintendent for the past decade.

Bill Newman, Ray and Associates national executive director, told the School Board Tuesday the firm had made contact with more than 200 possible candidates from 42 states about the vacancy and 55 of those contacts had completed applications.

"We have nine semifinalists," Newman said, adding the group of potential candidates is a strong "mixed-gender pool."

With the application, the School Board was given a candidate report from Ray and Associates, a letter of application, the application, résumé and letters of support.

The board worked through the potential list using a ranking system and decided to interview the five candidates.

The four candidates to be interviewed are:

• Neland Clark, superintendent of South Harrison Community School in Corydon, Ind.

• Roger Collins, superintendent of Nelson County public schools in Livingston, Va.

• Dan Lawson, superintendent of Tullahoma city schools.

• Kenneth Sorrick, former superintendent of North Palos School District, Palos Hills, Ill.

The School Board has several options in selecting a new superintendent. Board members could choose a new superintendent after the interviews; choose two finalists for a second interview; or could start again with the original nine and select another candidate.